Nevada Las Vegas Mission - Provo MTC, Elko, Las Vegas

While Elder Cronin is busy serving the Lord, and the people of the Nevada Las Vegas Mission, we will be busy keeping you all up to date on his adventures. Please visit often, we appreciate your support!!!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving Day, 2010

Family,

Happy Thanksgiving! I am most thankful for those who helped me get to where I am today! Thank you all!

Vegas was a blast. My companion got to baptize a family he worked with before while we were down there. I was able to watch and it was an amazing spiritual experience. It was Spanish service so I was able to practice my Spanish quite a bit. Elder Stant was there too! We got to catch up a bit and he seems to be doing great!

The Vegas missionary life is much more fast paced than what we have here in Elko. I really enjoy it down there too. So if and when I get transferred down to the valley I'm ready for it. For example on average we probably contact 2-3 people per day here in Elko. In the valley missionaries get about 20-30 contacts in one day. 

While we were in Vegas we got to hear from Elder Bowen of the 70. He put alot of things into perspective for me. He said something that I will always remember because it is something that I have always been taught. He said, " When you know who you are, you act differently." 
Dad used to always tell me before I'd go out with friends or away form the house, "Remember who you are." Truthfully I used to think that just meant to remember that I am a Cronin. And coming from a town where the name Cronin is rarely unheard of, I thought that just meant to not do anything to embarrass our family. As I have grown up I realize what Dad really meant. Sure, on the surface it was so that when someone looked in the paper they didn't read negative headlines about our family, but ultimately to remember who I am was to remember what I had been taught. Because that is what made me who I was. To go back on the things I had been taught would be to forget who I am. Part of what I had been taught is that I am a child of God. And in being as such I have certain responsibilities and expectations. To go against those or to forget who I am would be to deny my relationship with God. And ultimately deny his existence. Long story short. As I remember who I am, I act differently.

So far we have hit a nightly low of -13 F. And my companion and I shoveled snow last night in 0 F! My nose hairs were frozen! We survived the north western blizzard that hit Salt Lake. I don't know if you all heard about that but it dumped about 8 inches of snow in about 1 hour or so. Good Times!

We already had a Thanksgiving breakfast from the Sargeants and are headed to a 3 Oclock appointment for dinner that includes sledding! Then we  have another dinner around 6! Both dinners we will have investigators there with us! I'll be eating my fair share of Thanksgiving dinners today, wish me luck!!!!

So speaking of investigators, let me give you a little synopsis of how things are going here. The English work is showing us more success than Spanish work here. But that is just a result of the population and population density of each culture. We do most all of our work through member referrals and lessons with them present. So far we have 3 people set for baptism before Jan. 1st. Don't count these chickens before they hatch. I'll let y'all know who keeps their commitments. But all three are progressing successfully as of right now. 

I love you all, and wish you the best Turkey Day ever! Eat your hearts out and enjoy the presence of family. I wish I could be there the Lord needs me here. 

Love,

Elder Cronin

Thursday, November 18, 2010

November 17, 2010

Family,
It might seem odd that I am e-mailing today but we are heading down to Vegas tomorrow for a conference with General Authority Elder Bowen, he is touring the mission. Its what we call a mission vacation. And because we are leaving tomorrow we have our P-day today.
   I'm so excited to hear of your progression. Things are progressing here in Elko including the weather. We have been into the 30's so far but nothing colder than that and it seems to be a bit bi-polar as well seeing as how its 58 today and sunny. Which, surprisingly seems warm.
   Thanks for all the supplies you are sending me.  My companion and I are really hoping we stay here for a while. With our next transfer only 3 weeks away there is a possibility that one of us will be transferred. It would be a shame if after all the winter stuff I have (which includes 4 pairs of gloves!) if I get sent into the valley. But I must go and do as the Lord commands and if I am needed elsewhere I will gladly accept.
   We get member dinners every night accept for on P-days.  In fact, we get member dinners/ lunches so much that Monday we had two dinners back to back. And of course we don't tell the families that because we don't want them to feel like they can't feed us and they receive many blessings for their service so we eat EVERYTHING. Needless to say I was incredibly full! But the food is very good. And the company just the same.
   My Spanish is improving slowly but its improving. We teach about an equal proportion of English and Spanish lessons. This is because we cover one English Ward which covers just a fourth or so of Elko and the Spanish branch which covers not only the entire city of Elko but 4 other cities as well. So we have a lot of area and some of which we haven't even touched yet. There is a lot of work to do here in Elko.
The English ward is about the size of Clinton ward and the Spanish branch had about 50 names on the roster but only about 15 show up each Sunday. The branch is only 2 years old though but some of its original members are inactive now. So we do a lot of less-active and part member family work around here. And so far we are seeing success. I can't say that we have had any failures.
Funny Event of the Week:
 So I told you all about Bro. & Sis. Sargeant. Well Sis. Sargeant stays at home all day because of her health mostly but Bro. Sargeant is a real busy bee. He reminds me of Doc. He is always doing something. So the "something" he is doing now is covering about 2 acres he has just outside of town with leaves. First he started taking his own leaves from his house out to his land. Then he started asking friends to drop their leaves at his house and he would haul them out to his property. So he was only taking about a load a day. He's been doing this since we first got here. All he has is a little 1993 Toyota and his cane. But he gets it done.
So the other morning we were studying in our apartment out back of their house and all the sudden we heard this big diesel driving down the ally behind our house. We looked out the window and backing into the Sargaents yard is this dump truck. It tilts it bed and out comes at least 30 bags filled with leaves! Bro. Sargeant had a smile on his face a mile wide when he told us he convinced the city to dump the leaves they were picking up from the neighborhoods in his backyard. Sis. Sargeants reaction was not as joyful however. She came out with a look on her face of utter confusing as she asked her husband, "What the heck is going on here?" He answered her with the same accomplished grin and she walked inside and called the city and told them to stop dumping! By the time they got word to stop they had already dumped 2 loads.  Those two loads took Bro. Sargeant 7 loads to get to his property! Funny old man! But the sweetest people I know.
  
A Clarification of Missionary Work:
   Some people think that as missionaries we harass and bug and probe. Well we do in a sense. But the important thing is why we do it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of our Heavenly Father, is once again restored on this Earth. While technology has grown more in the past 75 years than it has in the past 2000 years alone we still cannot reach everyone to share the message of the Restoration. But God can. He prepares each and every person who has yet to hear the message to receive it. Some of those he prepares accept his preperation but others reject it. Our harassing, bugging and probing comes as a result of our commitment to find those who have been prepared by the Lord to receive the message. To find those people we simply invite. We do not pressure or demand, we merely invite. We invite you to listen to our message. Then we invite you to pray to know if that message is true. Then we invite you to listen for the Holy Ghost to confirm its validity. Then if you accept those invitations we invite you to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who holds the proper authority given to them through Jesus Christ himself. Then we invite you to continue to live by God's commandments and endure to the end. These are merely invitations. We are not on a mission to change, to demand, to argue, or to belittle. We are here to invite. So if there are any of you who are reading this and have not accepted or even been offered the invitation, I invite you to listen to what the missionaries have to say. And if you have heard the missionaries before I invite you to pray about their message. Will you do that? If you accept this invitation I promise you it will affect you for the better. And if you decide to take this challenge, this invitation, write me and let me know of your experience!
Family, I love you all and am so glad to hear of the blessings you all are receiving and I know that because of your support I am seeing blessings as well!
It gives me indescribable joy to know we are sealed together for the eternities. Sometimes that might seem unbearable but I promise it is the greatest gift we can receive!
Love,
Elder Cronin
P.S. I could use my Doc Martin work boots. We do alot of service :) Thanks!!!!

Friday, November 12, 2010

November 11, 2010

Family,

Another week in Elko and finally we are met with snow! The first snow fell Tuesday night as we left a teaching appointment. It was Elder Macferran's first snow fall. He is from Florida, Tampa area, and has only seen snow twice in his life but never actually falling from the sky. Elder Macferran's mom sent some "dinner funds," so we took a dinner appointment on Tuesday to go to a local sushi dive, Kabuki. It was an all you can eat diner and I tried oysters for the first time. Delicious. And we rolled out of that place stuffed full with sushi. It was a great experience. One, because of the food but two because I learned something very interesting about the mission and about myself.
   As we walked into the restaurant there was music playing. And not just random elevator music but some pop station on XM radio. I recognized a few of the songs that I had listened to before the mission but there were some I had not heard. My first feeling was to ask if we could turn off the music. This is what we do when we are with a member or investigator in their home. But of course doing that in a public restaurant was impossible. So I did  my best to tune it out. As I turned it out I realized how unimportant music was to me now. Before my mission I listened to music all the time. It gave me motivation, hope, peace, and at times it helped me sleep. I was almost disgusted at myself to think how dependent I was on music. I realized sitting in that sushi restaurant that whoever was coming in through the airwaves was just a person, a natural human being, who before my mission I, in one form or fashion, worshipped. I could only bow my head and ask for forgiveness as this all came to my mind later that night. As missionaries we are "set apart." Some think that only means we are assigned or given a title, but what I know and have a testimony of is that we are "set apart" from the world. In every sense. Even from music. Now please don't misinterpret that. I love music. I enjoy playing it and listening to it. But the dependence and attachment is something that I will not miss. 

So I don't know how much I've told you about the Sargeants but they are the member family housing us here in Elko. They are in their 80's I believe and have 9 kids I believe. They are the sweetest and most missionary minded people I've met. They are always looking to do missionary work. In fact we were over there the other day getting some referrals form Sister Sargeant. As she began writing the names down her husband, to fill the silence, started telling us a story about his fence building days. She quickly cut him off saying, with a straight face, "Oh hush now, they don't want to hear about that, not be quite we have missionary work to do." Elder Macferran and I couldn't help but let out a few muffled chuckles. They are dedicated to the work. In fact they fed us whole wheat pancakes this morning! I am still full!

The work is really progressing here. We have a few solid investigators and I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch so I won't say any more than that. I will say thought that the Lord prepares and as we are obedient he leads us to find. 

That is so exciting to hear that the whole family might be together for Thanksgiving. Families are one thing for which I am eternally grateful. Samuel's doing Jui-jitsu!? Awesome! Keep us the good work buddy. Don't get too distracted by the video games! I'm glad to hear that every one is doing well and thanks for getting me the shirts from Mr. Mac and sending more winter stuff, whoda thunk it? That I'd be in the snow.

So I have one more thing to add to my Christmas list. We went to a member's house and I saw some posters on his wall of computer developed images of Biblical and Book of Mormon prophets and stories. The website is www.realheroposters.com. I would love a  poster of Moroni, Joseph Smith, or Alma. Oh and don't worry about the voice recorder deal. The I have is sufficient. 

Family and anyone else who reads this, one thing we stress to everyone we talk to, even members is that we can recieve answers to our concerns, questions, or doubts through prayer. Just like with school the more we read and study the more we learn but we can learn even more by addressing our concerns and asking the teacher to clear them up. The same applies to life. Our teacher is our Heavenly Father. And He loves each and everyone of us. We are all equal in His eyes and I can promise you that if you pray sincerely like it says in Moroni 10:4-5 that He will answer you. So if you have any concerns, doubts, struggles, or are just plain stressed about something, will you take your burden to the Lord? I promise you will be uplifted and enlightened. 

We do have a car up here. It's nick name is "Boriqua" or Puerto Rican. Its a Toyota Corolla. We are the only companionship up here without a truck! The snow will be a trial of our faith. And, yes I can pick up a comforter here so no worries about that. And we are allowed to go to the temple once a month if we are in Vegas. So hang on to the names and I'll let you know when we get to go. 

I love you all and pray for your success,

Elder Cronin (aka Clark Kent) - My nickname from a member family.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Elder Cronin's "Parents"

While Elder Cronin serves his mission, Brother and Sister Christensen will watch over him and help keep him safe and sound! Elder Cronin love them both from what he has told us.

November 4, 2010

So here goes the first week. I'll try and keep it short and sweet.

We have member dinners every night. So far we have had about half English and half Spanish member dinners. My favorites so far have been the Spanish ones.

My Spanish is not as good as I thought it was. A very humbling observation, ha ha. I am improving but sometimes I say some interesting things. For example we were teaching a lesson the other day and instead of saying that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet I said he was called by a prophet. My companion quickly corrected me. We laughed about it afterward though.

So far we have had the opportunity to give a few blessings. The members of Elko are excited to have Elders. They have had sister missionaries for the past year or so. We are very excited to be here though.

Everyday has flown by as they are filled with appointments and getting to know the people here. I can already feel a love for those we have taught. We have been doing a lot of organizing the past week to prepare to work here in this area. I am learning very useful things from my trainer, Elder Macferran. We get along very well.

There is so much to write but so little time so I'd like to share some of the main points of the week with you all. And hopefully I will get into the habit of this each week.

The funniest moment: We approached this man swapping propane tanks on his trailer, he looked Hispanic, but we introduced ourselves in English. In a Spanish accent he said, "I no espeaka Engles." So we addressed him in Spanish and he rolled his eyes and said with a polite smile and again in a Spanish accent, "I don't espeak'a tha Spanish." So we asked if he spoke Portuguese and he said, in a Spanish accent, "I speak Frances." Frances means French in Spanish. We all started laughing!! It was a nice icebreaker

The most spiritual moment: Not really one in particular but we are new to this town and get lost very easily but it is no coincidence that at times when we are lost that we end up finding the person we are looking for on accident. We might not have a GPS but the Spirit definitely guides us.

The Highlight of the Week: Eating at a Vasco "Basque, in English" Restaurant. Very garlicy food but a new and exciting experience.

Family, I am loving Elko and I know the Lord has me here for a reason. I love you all. I hope you are able to see the blessings the Lord is giving you all because my eyes are opened each day to new ones. 

I talk about you all to almost every person we come in contact with. Without my family I would not be here. My family, you all, are my rock and my motivation. As we each choose to follow Christ I know we will have happiness and order in our lives and eventually we will be able to rejoice in Heaven together for eternity. Keep everything in perspective and strive to have the Holy Ghost as your constant companion. You can never be lost. Even in a small town in Northern Elko where you've never been before. This is my testimony. I hope it touches you all for the better.

Love
Elder Cronin